Lane Kiffin Breaks Silence on His Repeated Digs at Auburn's Hugh Freeze
Lane Kiffin has never been one to shy away from a good troll, and lately, Auburn coach Hugh Freeze has been squarely in his crosshairs. But after a string of playful jabs on social media, the Ole Miss coach finally addressed the elephant on the boat, or rather, the fishing rod.
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"It had nothing to do with his golf game, which sounds like he is doing amazing at that," Kiffin said with a grin. "By the way, I was fishing yesterday, and it was a dead period."
Translation? Kiffin was relaxing during NCAA-mandated downtime, unlike certain coaches being called out for logging double-digit rounds of golf while recruiting rankings sink.
Kiffin's subtle trolling reached a peak last weekend when he posted a video of himself fishing, complete with an American flag waving in the background, and tagged Freeze directly. It came shortly after reports from AL.com revealed Freeze played 10 rounds of golf in June and over 20 this year, more than any other SEC coach by far.
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Freeze, for his part, isn't exactly ducking the topic. On the "See Ball Get Ball" podcast with David Pollack, he responded with classic Hugh Freeze conviction.
'You know, everybody seems to like to talk about my golf game … I do love golf. I enjoy playing,' Freeze admitted. 'But I assure you, I never missed a camp day or a recruiting day.'
He continued, 'If camp got over at three o'clock one day, and Jill [Freeze] and I go out at 4:30, we absolutely might do that. And I'm not apologizing for that part of it.'
Ole Miss Rebels coach Lane Kiffin and Auburn Tigers coach Hugh Freeze.© Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK
The timing of all this, of course, hasn't helped Freeze's image. Auburn's 2026 recruiting class currently ranks 66th nationally, per Rivals. That, combined with two straight losing seasons under his leadership, has some fans questioning whether Freeze is more focused on fairways than four-star recruits.
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Kiffin, ever the social media savant, clearly knows how to keep the pot stirred. Whether it's fishing trips or emoji-laced tweets, he's always ready with a well-timed jab.
And for now, Freeze seems to be just trying to drive his recruiting rankings a little straighter, like his shots down the fairway.
Related: Paul Finebaum Didn't Hesitate To Put Top SEC Head Coach On Hot Seat
Related: Former NFL QB Shuts Down Arch Manning Hype Train With Blunt Verdict
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
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